April 16 international soccer roundup (updated)

Monday

Apr 16, 2018 at 4:58 PMApr 16, 2018 at 10:04 PM

The Associated Press

ENGLAND: Carroll equalizes late as West Ham holds Stoke to 1-1 in Premier League

LONDON — Andy Carroll scored a 90th-minute equalizer for West Ham to draw with relegation-threatened Stoke 1-1 in the English Premier League and come to teammate Joe Hart's rescue after the goalkeeper's latest error on Monday.

Stoke was close to a huge win in its fight to avoid the drop when Carroll, who had been on the field as a substitute for just four minutes, met a left-wing cross with a crisp volley into the bottom corner.

That strike spared the blushes of Hart, whose fumble allowed Peter Crouch — another second-half substitute — to put Stoke ahead in the 79th at the Olympic Stadium.

A victory for the visitors would have seen them move to within three points of safety and keep West Ham in real danger of going down. As it turned out, Stoke has five points to make up in its final four games if the team is to preserve its top-flight status.

"The goal was a kick in the teeth," Crouch said.

Carroll last played for West Ham more than three months ago, with an ankle injury depriving the team of its target man up front. As usual, he caused havoc after coming on, and his goal is likely to prompt calls for his inclusion in England's World Cup squad as a Plan B for coach Gareth Southgate, fitness permitting.

Whether Hart makes it to Russia is still open to debate.

The goalkeeper has only just got back in the West Ham team after losing his place to Adrian at the end of November. In his first game back, he made a mistake for a goal in a 3-0 loss at Burnley on March 10, and this one against Stoke was almost an exact replica as he fumbled a shot in front of him by Xherdan Shaqiri.

Before Hart had a chance to hack the ball away with his feet, Crouch nipped in to score from close range.

The errors won't help Hart's chance of regaining the England jersey off Jordan Pickford ahead of the World Cup in Russia — if he is included in the 23-man squad for the tournament, that is.

The point left West Ham seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Stoke is likely to need at least three wins from its final four games to stay up.

"It is a blow because we were close to winning," Stoke manager Paul Lambert said. "We're right in the fight, no mistake about it."

GERMANY: Bizarre penalty helps Mainz in Bundesliga relegation battle

BERLIN — Pablo de Blasis scored one of the most remarkable goals in Bundesliga history - during the halftime break - as Mainz beat relegation rival Freiburg 2-0 amid fresh protests against Monday night games.

Daniel Brosinski tried his luck before halftime when his shot took a deflection off Freiburg defender Marc Oliver Kempf's hand.

Referee Guido Winkmann, who'd allowed play to continue, then blew for halftime and was on his way off the pitch when notified by video referee Bibiana Steinhaus, who was watching in Cologne, that he should check a replay.

Winkmann watched the incident again on the pitch-side screen and evidently decided Kempf deliberately put his hand to the ball.

But Freiburg's players were already off the pitch and entering their changing room when they had to be called back.

"We're not going out," Freiburg coach Christian Streich responded as he led his confused players back into the changing room. Some were looking at TVs to determine exactly what was going on.

The Freiburg team eventually emerged back onto the pitch, where Winkmann explained to a bemused Streich that it was a penalty for the home side.

De Blasis, who'd had to wait for Alexander Schwolow to re-take his place in goal, held his nerve to score inside the left corner as the Freiburg 'keeper dived the other way.

"We thought that when the whistle goes for halftime, that the first 45 minutes are ticked off," Freiburg sporting director Jochen Saier told Eurosport at halftime. "That wasn't the case in this scene, we have to accept that with heavy hearts. Things are getting stranger."

After finally getting their halftime break, the players were forced to wait again for the second half after Mainz fans threw hundreds of rolls of toilet paper onto the pitch in protest against Monday night games. After the stewards cleared the paper strands, they threw another round they held back in reserve to delay the second half even further.

Protests also delayed the initial kickoff, and the whole game took place to the sound of shrill whistles as supporters made their displeasure known with the German football league.

A mistake from Schwolow in the final minutes allowed De Blasis to seal the home side's first win since January.

Defeat meant Freiburg took Mainz's place in the relegation zone due to an inferior goal difference. Wolfsburg is also under threat with four rounds remaining, while survival looks increasingly unlikely for Hamburger SV and Cologne, eight and nine points adrift of safety, respectively.

ENGLAND: Mourinho set to drop big names after latest United stumble

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will drop some of the high-profile players who gifted the English Premier League title to Manchester City at the weekend, saying "the price they cost, their salary, their beautiful face" doesn't guarantee a place in his team.

United lost at home to last-place West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Sunday in one of the most surprising results of the Premier League.

Mourinho said some players will pay the price by not featuring against Bournemouth on Wednesday and potentially against Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinals on Saturday.

"If I play a player against Bournemouth and he plays phenomenal, he plays the semifinal," Mourinho said. "So it's not rotating because rotating looks like a player that plays against Bournemouth is to give a rest for somebody who is going to play against Spurs in the semifinal.

"The word is not rotation, the word is an opportunity, for people to play and to try to get a place in the team for Spurs. Some of the guys that played (against West Brom), they don't have a place in that team."

Paul Pogba might be one of them, having been substituted in the 58th minute partly because of his poor display but also because he was on a yellow card. The France midfielder has been in and out of United in recent months, showing Mourinho is not scared of dropping his big names.

"What is the criteria for managers to choose a team?" Mourimho asked. "I only know one criteria: It's the way you play. It's the only way I can select players.

"Do you want me to go for the price they cost, their salary, their beautiful face? The only way to go is with the performance."

The FA Cup represents United's last shot at winning a trophy this season.

SWITZERLAND: UEFA bans club Sion for one season over transfer debt

NYON, Switzerland — UEFA has banned Swiss club Sion from its competitions for one season over a transfer debt, and fined three clubs for breaking licensing rules.

Sion is barred from its next Champions League or Europa League qualification on merit in the next two seasons, UEFA said in announcing the verdicts of judges from its club finance monitoring panel on Monday.

The case involved a 950,000 euros ($1.18 million) debt to French club Sochaux in the disputed transfer of Ghanaian forward Ishmael Yartey. UEFA said the debt was paid during the last offseason.

UEFA also fined Sion the 235,000 euros ($290,000) prize money earned by playing in one qualifying round of this season's Europa League, where it was eliminated by Suduva Marijampole of Lithuania. Sion lies ninth in the Swiss league and unlikely to qualify for the next Europa League.

The Swiss club can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

UEFA said the panel also fined Irtysh of Kazakhstan 440,000 euros ($545,000) and put the club on three years' probation.

Vojvodina of Serbia and Tirana of Albania were each fined the 215,000 euros ($266,000) they earned from Europa League qualifying rounds.

UEFA's licensing system requires club operations to be evaluated by national soccer federations who must approve a license before formally entering a team to play in the Champions League or Europa League.

UEFA can intervene to block club entries due to incorrect paperwork or unpaid debts including player salaries, transfer fees owed to other clubs, and taxes.

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